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Australian Catholic Super Is an Industry Super Fund for All Aussies

22 March 2016

Are you looking for multiple investment options in your new superannuation account? Here’s what Australian Catholic has to offer.

Australian Catholic is the largest Catholic superannuation fund in the country. More than 8,000 employers in Australia have chosen this fund and it has over 90,000 members. Membership to Australian Catholic is open to all Australians, provided they meet some basic eligibility criteria.

Since this is an industry fund, it operates solely for the benefit for its customers. Administration of the fund takes place in-house, which enables Australian Catholic to provide personalised service to members and employers alike.

Australian Catholic Superannuation received its MySuper licence from Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) in March 2013, placing it among the first 10 super fund providers to get this license.

The list of awards and honours Australian Catholic have earned

SuperRatings, 2009 - 2015. Australian Catholic received Platinum rating for seven consecutive years.

Australian Business Awards, 2015. Australian Catholic Superannuation received an ABA100 award for Project Management in selecting and implementing its customer relationship management (CRM) system.

AIST Awards for Excellence, 2014. The fund’s head of client services won the AIST Super Operations/Administration Award for Excellence.

Don’t waste time: A quick look at Australian Catholic

This super fund provider follows a number of policies and practises to ensure that it manages members’ funds suitably. It aims to deliver long-term security to its members, while setting a clearly defined and transparent framework.

Australian Catholic complements its in-house team by appointing external service providers with specialist skills to help manage your investments better. For example, BNP Paribas Fund Services Australasia Private Limited functions as the custodian of the fund. Some of the investment managers it relies on include:

AMP Capital Investors Limited

Ardea Investment Management Private Limited

FIIG Securities Limited

Kapstream Capital Private Limited

Perennial Value Management Limited

Triple Three Partners Private Limited

Vanguard Investments Australia Private Limited

For the benefit of its members, Australian Catholic organises a number of free seminars and events across Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. Employers can benefit through professional management of their super. The Australian Catholic super website provides an array of tools and resources for its members.

This super fund gives its members an array of investment options to choose from. You can consider opening an Australian Catholic pension account as well.

How to approach Internet banking with Australian Catholic Super

As an Australian Catholic member you get free access to its secure online platform. You can login to this system to make changes to personal or beneficiary details. It lets you select investment options as well. The website provides different kinds of calculators that can assist you in planning for retirement. Going through its educational slides, videos and webinars can be beneficial as well.

What super funds are offered by Australian Catholic?

When you join this super fund you get to choose from 11 different investment alternatives. These include six managed options that offer diversity and five from single asset classes. You can invest your money in one or more options, depending on factors such as risk tolerance and expected returns.

Shares. Through this option your money goes mainly towards Australian and international shares. Some of it may go towards cash and term deposits as well. This is ideal for people who can withstand high levels of short term volatility to get higher returns over a long term. This high risk option comes with a minimum suggested investment period of seven years.

Growth. This option invests your money in all major asset classes, although it gives more weighting to Australian and international shares. If you don’t mind fluctuations in returns from year to year for higher returns over the longer term, this option may work well for you. It presents high risk and requires that you invest for a minimum period of seven years.

MySuper Balanced. You can choose this option if you’re looking at diversifying across all major asset classes and hoping for high long term returns. This medium to high risk option requires that you stay invested for at least five years.

Socially Responsible Balanced. While this managed option diversifies across all major assets classes, it focuses on social, environmental and social aspects. You can expect high returns over medium to long term but may face volatility in shorter periods. The minimum suggested investment period is five years. Risk level is high.

Conservative Balanced. This option offers considerable diversity, while focussing more on assets such as cash and fixed interest. The minimum suggested investment period for this medium risk managed option is four years.

Conservative. This option allocates a significant portion of your investment to cash and fixed interest, while also investing across all other major asset classes. This medium risk option requires that you stay invested for at least three years.

Single asset classes. You can choose to invest your super money on your own, through five single asset classes. These include Australian shares, international shares, property, bonds as well as cash and term deposits.

What pension accounts are offered by Australian Catholic?

Australian Catholic lets you choose from two account based pensions. What differentiates the two is how you go about investing your money.

RetireChoice. This is what Australian Catholic previously referred to as allocated pension. You get to select from 11 different pre-mixed and single asset class investment options. You also get to choose which investment option your pension comes from. You have the ability to periodically change your investment mix to suit your changing life stage.

RetireSmart. This option is best suited for individuals who don’t want to make choices surrounding initial and ongoing investments. Here, Australian Catholic divides your investment into two distinct categories. Investment in cash accounts for your pension payments, while growth investments aim for increase in capital.

Pension payments through both options can take place weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or annually. You can make a lump sum withdrawal from your pension account at any time, provided you withdraw a minimum of $5,000. While these pension accounts can work as a major source of your retirement income, you can use them as part of a multi-faceted retirement as well.

Tips to establish your Australian Catholic Super account faster

If you work for a non-Catholic employer, are self-employed or unemployed, wish to make personal contributions or want to receive spouse-only payments into your super, you can complete an online application. You can join this super fund these different stages in your life:

When you first start working.

When you change jobs.

When you start planning for retirement.

Applying requires that you meet some basic eligibility criteria:

You are a resident of Australia for taxation purposes.

You have a tax file number.

To complete the application successfully, you’ll have to provide different kinds of information:

Once you become a member, you can use the secure online platform to make changes to your personal details at any time. This platform lets you add beneficiary details, transfer funds from other super accounts and submit your tax file number.

Australian Catholic gives you multiple investment options surrounding superannuation and pension accounts. However, since you can find similar variety in other super funds, compare a few before deciding.

BT Super for Life by BT Financial Group is designed to make your superannuation as easy to manage as possible. It offers a wide range of attractive and flexible features designed to help you build a super balance.

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